Sydney co-captain Callum Mills is in significant doubt for Round 1 next year after injuring his shoulder during the Swans’ Mad Monday celebrations.
7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Clearly exclusively revealed the star midfielder will undergo surgery after suffering the injury while wrestling with a teammate.
“And tonight we can reveal the shock surgery for Callum Mills after Mad Monday celebrations went wrong,” Cleary said.
Analysis, local footy and the biggest moments, Seven and 7plus are the home of footy shows for every fan. Stream them all for free on 7plus >>
“He injured his shoulder while wrestling with a teammate at the post-season drinks.
“And (he) is now in severe doubt for Round 1 next year.”
Mills was absent from the Swans’ Brownlow Medal table on Monday night as teammate Errol Gulden nearly stormed to victory.
Gulden finished in a tie for fourth on 27 votes, four behind winner Lachie Neale.
Sydney endured a difficult season this year with multiple injuries to key players.
They did somehow rescue the season and scramble their way into the finals, only to be knocked out by Carlton in the first week.
Coach John Longmire would be hoping for better luck next year, and the Mills news is not the way he would have wanted this off-season to start.
It is not the first time Mills has injured himself in unusual non-football circumstances.
In 2018 Mills missed most of the season when he broke his foot after a training session.
On this occasion he was throwing a mini American football with teammates when he landed on uneven ground and fell.
The Swans called that incident an “unfortunate accident” and a “bad break”.
Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley explained the scenario at the time.
“We’d finished training, we were finalising the team and a few of the boys went to grab a bite to eat and a coffee just within the SCG Moore Park precinct,” he said.
“And as they were walking back, (they were) just throwing around one of those little mini gridiron balls.
“The ball went to Callum and he stumbled on some uneven land, a gutter or a grille or whatever you want to call it, and he’s rolled his foot and broken a bone in his foot.”
Harley, who was football manager back then, also warned all his players about being careful while away from the sport.
“It’s just a constant reminder to all the players that you live your life 24/7 … so extremely disappointing for him and extremely disappointing for us,” he said.
– With Cameron Noakes
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.